Br. Jeff hard at work on the Oblasser Collection.
Br. Jeff hard at work on the finding guide for the Oblasser Collection.
Br. Jeff comes to the Archive-Library each week day morning, comedic coffee cup in hand, to continue his work with the Oblasser Collection. What follows is part of an an extra brief Q&A with Br. Jeff to find out how the project is coming along.
SBMAL: Can you tell us about the collection you are working on?
Br. Jeff: My main project here at the archives currently is the Oblasser collection. This collection which is made up largely through data compiled by the Franciscan friar, Bonaventure Oblasser, also known as the “Apostle to the Papagos (Tohono O’odham)”.
The collection which we have concerning Oblasser is quite large and somewhat unwieldy. My concentration in library and information science has been information organization, analysis, and retrieval. As such, it was felt that having me to develop an organizational schema and taxonomy would be a good place for me to start in the archive-library.
SBMAL: How has this project informed your understanding of the World of Library Science?
Br. Jeff: This experience is affording me a wonderful dual opportunity. The first part is that it allows me to flesh out the epic figures of Southwest Franciscan history, such as the friars Bonaventure Oblasser and Al Braun. While I have heard these names throughout my friar life, the best way to understand someone is through the words, so going through their correspondence has afforded me this way of personalizing their stories to me. The second opportunity is to be part of the team here at the Santa Barbara Mission Archive-Library to develop and improve the findability and searchability resource for Southwest Franciscan studies more accessible to future researchers.
